JIHYUN KIM
Composer
Once Upon a Time...
for Pierrot Ensemble plus Percussion
Fairy tales often encompass characteristics such as fantasy or make-believe elements, enchanted setting frequently starting with ‘Once upon a time…’, good and evil characters, magical elements, climax and resolution, and a happy ending with ‘…and they lived happily ever after.’
The piece is not related to a specific tale, rather, general characteristics of fairy tale are portrayed in each musical scene.
The structure of this piece is quite chaotic. Musical scenes change in fast-paced manner, intrigued by the ephemeral nature of fairy tales. However, one finds it difficult to be lost in the story as the main motive, disguised in various fashion, keeps the wanderers on track. While the beginning theme struggles to find its way back, a sudden happy ending arrives in a most bizarre manner – matching perfectly with its far-fetched, unusual happiness. Like the definition of ‘fairytale ending’, it depicts the nature of a story that not only is not true but could not possibly be true.